The Vikings can’t realistically fire Adofo-Mensah because there’s almost no evidence that dismissing a general manager while keeping the head coach leads to organizational success. And moving on from O’Connell makes even less sense; if fired, he’d be hired immediately and almost certainly thrive elsewhere. It could mirror the mistake of letting Sam Darnold walk.
Staying the course with McCarthy is its own gamble, because, without exaggeration, McCarthy has been one of the worst statistical quarterbacks in league history through six starts. He might simply be a miss, no different than Josh Rosen, Trey Lance, Zach Wilson, and other first-round quarterbacks who never developed. Busts happen.
Keeping everything intact — same front office, same coaching setup, same quarterback — risks inviting a near-identical result in 2026 and drifting into the “definition of insanity” territory.
As for signing a free-agent quarterback in March, that path is familiar. It’s the same method that brought Kirk Cousins to Minnesota, and any veteran available on the open market arrives with a limited ceiling. That’s precisely why the Vikings never reached a Super Bowl with Cousins or Darnold. Other teams let those quarterbacks leave for a reason, and the Vikings shouldn’t expect a different result by recycling the same formula.